Article treating means



April 24, 1945. E. R. ALLIN'G- ET AL ARTICLE TREATING MEANS Filed Feb..'28, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ma w m OQ /A/l/ E JJ? Ma V lwulz Armi/M16.

April 24, 1945. E, R A| |NG ET AL 2,374,260

ARTICLE TREATING MEANS Filed Feb. 28. 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 UNI-TEDSTATES PATENT' orFlcE ARTICLE TREATINGMEANS l E. Roy Alling, Kenmore,and Carl Ulrich, Buffalo, N. Y.; said Ulrich: assigner to Rice & AdamsCorporation, Buialo, N. Y.

Application February 28, 1941, Serial No; 381,160

12 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for treatingr articles with` a fluidmedium and more particularly to the washing of milk cans and covers in amilkreceiving plant. In the washing of such cans heretofore, the canshave been moved along a selected.A path by step by step movements and.while in different stations along said path, subjected to fluidtreatments for washing, rinsing, sterilizing,v and drying of the same.Itis desirable to control the streams of some of said fluids so thatthere will be no waste oi".` the fluid while the cans are moving fromone station to another and no delivery of a treating fluid to aparticular station when no can and its cover or article isin thatstation. Heretofore, this controlv has been obtained by valvescontrollingsuch streams, and such valves have been opened by mechanismwhich is directly operated by. the pressure obtained by camming aside alever that is disposed in the path of travel of the cans or articles asthey move into particular stations. To open such valves requiresconsiderable pressure, and, consequently, considerable force must beexerted by the can or article on the lever or other mechanism which isoperated thereby to open the valve. This pressure causes a substantialrub-` bing actionon the cans or articles, which tends to wear ofi thenish thereof,' and in the'case of milk cans this pressure wears oi thetinned surface so as to expose the metal therelc`reneath-l Such wornsurfaces then rust or corrode and become unsightly and in time weakenthe cans or cause leakage through the walls.

An object of this invention is to provide improved means for controllingthe fluids delivered to the cans or articles moving along aselectedpath, with which the wear on the articles or cans is very greatlyreduced, which will be relatively simple, compact, durable andinexpensive, and' which will not greatly increase` the cost of theapparatus.

Another object of .the invention is to provide improved means forcontrolling a, fluid delivered to articles passing along a selected pathunder the control of the articles in said path, with which the actualoperation of the valves is obtained from a suitable source of power andnot from the pressure by any article as the article passes along itspath of travel, with which the operation of the valve by the source ofpower is selectively controlled bythe presence and absence of an articlefrom a selected station in said path, as said articles move in sucessionalong said path,` and with which wear on the articles, because of suchcontrol, will'be a minimum.

Anotherobiectjof 'the invention is to provide simple andeective meansforcontrolling the delivery of auidto articlessuch` as milk cans, as thearticles move insuccession along a selected path, with whiehthe valveswill be power'op erated' andA such` operation made automaticallyresponsive to the presence or 'absence of a can or article in anyselected position in said path, with which unnecessary wear of saidarticles while passing alongsaid pathway will be avoided, with which theoperation of the valves will occur in timed relation to the movement ofthe articles along4 said path, with which the time of application ofthetreating fluid can be exactly governed by the design o'f the operatingmechanism, which will require a minimum ,of 'operating parts, and whichwill be relatively simple, quiet, compact and inexpensive.v

Other objects andadvantages will be apparent from the followingdescription of an embodiment of theinven'tion in a typical 'can washingmachine, andthe novelv features will be particularly pointed outhereinafter in connection with the appended claims.`

In the drawings:

Fig.1 is a side elevationof a portion of a milk can and lcover washingmachine, in which the delivery of treating fluid" to the cans andcovers4 in certainl of the, treatingv stations Vis controlled byvalves,` and thev valves are in turn controlled by the presence orabsencejof cans in the stations to which iluid isd'elivered and in whichthe valves arecontrolledin accordance with this invention;

Fig, 1a isI an elevation of the connections be tween certain vdetailsofthe same; Y

2 isa. sectionalplan of. a portion of the same, illustrating the mannerin which the vcontrol of the valves is accomplished in timed relation tothe movementl of the cans through the treating stations; p

'Fig.,3 is a sectional plan, on a larger scale, through a portion of thewasher at one of the treating stations y to illustrate the manner inwhich lthe valvesfarec'ontrolled by the cans as 45 the cans move into atreating station, the cans in this view beingu shown at intermediatepoints between stations; ,A

Fig. Vl isa similar .View after the interponent has been` set, by thepresence of a can in a se- 50 lected station, ready to cause anoperation of the valve by the source of power, but before the operationofthe valve has started;

Fig. 5 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 4. showing the position ofthe partsoccupied after the valve has 55 been opened by the source lf'power andwith cere tain of the parts in section to show more clearly some of thedetails of the parts;

Fig 6 is a transverse, sectional elevation through the valve controllingmechanism, the section being taken approximately along the line 5 6 ofFig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3, with thevalve in section to show interior details thereof;

Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation similar to Fig. 6, but showing thechange in the position of the interponent after it has been shifted intoeffective position to cause an operation of the valve;

and

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the mechanism of Fig. 8 while the partsare in that same position.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the articles selected tobe treated with a uid medium are milk cans, and the treatment includes'e the washing, rinsing, sterilizingand drying of the cans and theircovers asthey pass vthrough.

the machine along a selected path. 4Machines of this type are common inthev art, and the drawings illustrate generally a typical example ofsuch a can and cover Washing machine to which this invention hasadvantageously been applied. In the drawings, many parts -of the washingmachine not directly modied by this invention, have been omittedinforder not tol obscure details of the application of this invention toa machine of that type.-

A typical can washingmachineof this type includes a housing I havingtherein from end to end, rails I I on which the cans are supported andalong which they slide Whilein` an inverted position, and also `a railI2 which extends generally from end to end of the housing, and on theupper edge of which the covers are rolled successively through treatingstations in proximity to the cans to which those covers respectivelybelong'. Such rails I2 commonly have notches I3 into which the coversroll, and which serve to yieldingly hold the covers in the differenttreating stations and prevent over-running f -tliecovers as they arepropelled along the rail I2. The covers are pushed along the rail I2 bydogs I 4 lwhich are pivoted to a dog bar I at spaced intervals theree.along, the dogs being overweighted at one end so,

as to normally assume generally upright or upwardly inclined positionsas shown in Fig. 1.

the retraction of the dog bar I5, the upstanding end of each dog willbecammed downwardly and ride under the neck of any cover which has beenpushed into its path by thenext adjacent dog.

Thus, when the dog bar I5 is moved to the right in.

Fig. 1, the dogs I4 thereon will push any covers against which they mayengage to the right from one notch I3 to another, each notchrepresenting one treating station` During the movement of `the dog barI5 to the left, or retraction, the dogs I 4 will return to theirstations to the left of the notches i3. If a cover has been pushed intoany station, the dog passing that station in its return will be cammeddownwardly at its upstanding end through its engagement with that cover,and after the dogpasses the cover the dog will automatically return toits upstanding position ready to push the cover in that station forwardat the next movement of the dog bar I5 to the right in Fig. 1.Similarly, the cans are pushed along the rails I l, which form a track,by pairs of dogs IB which are pivoted at I7 to dog bars I8 which aredisposed along side the rails II and which are shifted endwise inreciprocating movements in a manner which will be described presently.

The dogs I6 are also each over-weighted at one end so as to normallypresent upstanding noses, which project above the plane of the upperedges ofthe rails l I sufficiently to engage the outer edge of the loweror open end of the canv which is riding on the rails II at oppositesides of the center thereof, so that when the dog bars I8 are shifted tothe right in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, each pair of dogs I6 will shift any canimmediately in front in Fig. 1, ready to again push forward, or to theright in` Figs. 1 to 3, from station to station, all cans which are inthe treating stations.

The dog barsI I5 and I8 arereciprocated endwise yin a selected cyclevofoperation in any suitable manner. trated, the operating power for thedog bars is obtained from a shaft I9 which carries a gear 2l)v driven bya gear 2| and suitable motor not shown, it being understood that theshaft I9 may rotate continuously. A cam 22 is fixed on the shaft I9 ortothe gear 20 so as to rotate with the gear 20, and this cam 22 has, ina face thereof, a cam groove 23 (Fig. 1) which varies in its radialdistance from the axis of rotation of the shaft I9 in a manner which ispredetermined by the particular desired cycle of movement. of the dogbars. A roller or cam follower A24 runs in the groove 23 and isrotatably carried by a pin 25 on a lever 26, which is pivoted at 21 to abase bearing 28. The lever 26 swings generally in the direction ofendwise movement of the dog bars, and it is connected by a pin 29-to oneend of a link 30 (Figs. 1a and 2), the other end of which is connectedby a horizontal pivot 3I to a bearing king pin 32 which hasa dependingshank 33 rotatably connected to an arm 34, which in turn is fixed on anupright shaft 35.

The shaftI 35 extends generally from the level of the ,dog bar I5 to thelevel of the dog bars I8. 'Ifhe dog bars I8 are connected together so asto operate in unison, and one of these dog bars is pivotally connectedby a pin 36 to one end of a link 31 which is connected at its other endby a suitable pivot pin to the free end of the arm 34. An arm 38 isfixed upon a shaft 35 at its upper end, and thefree end of that arm is'pivotally connected by a pin 39 to one end of a link 40, the `other endof which is pvotally connected by a pin 4I to the cover dog bar I5.Thus, when the shaft 35 is rocked, it .will act through its arms 34 and38 to cause simultaneous and corresponding reciprocations of the dogbars I5 and I8 and thus propel the covers and cans in unison fromstation tohstation. Inasmuch as the connection from V link 30 to arm 34moves through an arc during operation 0f the shaft 35the link 30 mayalso be provided with a hinged joint 42 which allows generallyhorizontal toggle movement of the link 30. It will be understood thatthis operation of the dogbars from the cam 22 is old in the art,

In the particular example illusandi-s not, per se, part .of theinvention, butV is and its cover arev not in their respective stationsillustrated and described' suiciently' to explain its operation in timedrelationto the valve'controlling mechanism. f

It will be observed that as the shaft I9 rotates continuously in thesame direction, it will cause reciprocations of the dog bars I and IBIand while the follower 24 is running inthe circular r arc portion of thegroove 23 farthest from and concentric to the shaft I 9, the dog barswill be in retracted positions and quiet for a substantial interval oftime sufcient to enable treatinging element 41. The other arm of thebell crank 45 carries a weight 48 which is secured in adjusted positionsby a set screw 48a, and may be adjusted to diierent distances from pivot46- to exert an adjustable turning force on the bell crank lever andurge the roller 44 into following contact with the periphery of the cam43. The bell crank 45 has an upstanding portion 49 which is pivotallyconnected at 55 to one end of a rod 5I. The pin 5U has sufficient playin the upstanding end 49 of the bell crank lever'45 so that the end ofrod 5I may move in a strictly endwise direction, while the opening inthe end 49 of the lever 45 in which pin 50 engages moves through a smallarc. This play may be obtained by elongating the opening in the leverend 49 in a direction toward the pivot 46 as is well known in mechanicalmovements.

The rod 5| extends in a direction generally parallel to the direction ofmovement of the dog bars I8, and is supported for such endwise slidingmovement at a plurality of points by bearings 52 (Fig. 2). It will benoted from Fig. 1 that while shift the rod 5I to the right, and hold itin that shifted position as the roller 44 rides along a substantial zoneof cam 43 which is concentric to the shaft I9. The roller 44 is releasedfor movement towards the shaft I9 about the Zone where the dog barsbegin their advance. The weight 48 shifts the roller 44 toward the shaftI9 and in doing so shifts the rod 5I 'back to the left and holds it inthat retracted position throughout the remaining period of the rotation,duringr which period of rest for rod 5I the dog bars are shifted toadvance the cans and covers from'station to station.

In their travel through the machine, and while in different stations,the cans and covers are subjected to diiferent cleaning treatments inVwhich they are usually rst rinsed, then washed with a suitabledetergent, rinsed, sterilized and dried. Certain of these treatments,such as some of the rinsing treatments. utilize steam and fresh waterfor example, and it would be an unnecessary waste of such water andsteam to deliver the same at the respective stations when milk cans andcovers are not in those stations, and the splashing of such rinse waterin the interior of the machine when no can and cover are in positions tobe treated thereby might result in some unnecessary dilution of thewashing solution. Accordingly, at any of these stations where deliveryof a liquid is not desired whenever a can tov receive the treatment, acontrolv is provided for thatfliquid inthe nature of a valve which. is

opened only when the can and its cover' are in those stations. Inasmuchas the control isthe same at each of the stations, the control for onlytwo of such stations has been shown, but obviou'sly this control. can besimilarly applied to any of the stations.

In the illustrated example of the invention, a valve 53 controls thedelivery of the intermediate pump rinse water to cans in station A andto covers for the same cans that are in station B. Similarly a valve 54controlsv delivery of sterile rinse water to any cans in station C andto the corresponding covers in station D. As valves 53 and 54 arenormally urged into closed condition in any suitable manner, a typicalvalve for that purpose is shown in Fig. 7, and since all of the valvesare the same, this particular valve in Fig'. '7

- 55 has an operating stem 51 which extends outthe valve. valve causedconsiderable wear on the surface of wardly of the valve housing, so thatwhenever the outer end of thevalve stem 51 is depressed against theaction of spring 56,A the valve will be opened to pass fluid through thepipe 58 from thepumlp 59.

After'passing the valve 53, the pipe 58'branches, one branch 58a passingbeneath any can in sta'- tin A and directing liquid upwardly into anyycan that is therecver. The Iother branch 58h passes upwardly to stationB for the corresponding cover of that can, and there terminates inbranches which deliver several streams of rinsing water against thecover as usual in this type of machine, Heretofore, in some priordevices the valve stems` 51 have been operated against the action ofspring 56 by' a lever disposed in thepath of the can at a station, sothat as any can moved into that station it cammed the lever aside and inVdoing so depressed the stern 51' andV opened The pressure required toso open a the can where engaged by the lever, and in accordance withthis invention, this wear has been largely eliminated by having the can,as'itl moves into .the station, merely control the activityl of thevalve and not furnish the actual valve operating force or pressure. j

` Referring particularly to Figs. 5 to 9, one form of this control isillustrated. A sleeve or transmission element 60 is mounted on the rod5I for sliding movement therealong in a zone adjacent the valve 53. Thesleeve 60 has an arm 60a which abutsagainst the outer, free endv of thevalve stem 51 of valve 53. VThe face of the arm 50a.

which engages stem 51 is provided with an internal recess 6I (Fig. 5)which loosely ts over the end of stern- 51 This engagement between thestem 51 and the arm 50a prevents rotation of sleeve 60 on rod 5I', andsince the stem 51 is substantially parallel to the rod 5 I, endwisemovement of sleevetll with rod 5I `will cause a depression of the Valvestem 51. The sleeve E0 is also provided withA an arm Bb, and a rod 52isthreaded through the army 60D' adjacent the free end of the latter in adirection parallel to the rod 5I. An interponent or plate 63 ispivotally mounted on the rod 62 and is confined against the arm Ib by anut 64 and washer 55, the nut 64 being threaded uponl the rod 62. By theWord interponent is meant a member which may be selectively interposedbetween two other parts to transmit motion between them, and removedfrom between them to interrupt such transmission of movement. Theinterponent or'plate 63 is free to oscillate about the rod 62 and isprovided with two slots 66 and 61, the slot 66 extending from a pointadjacent the rod 62 to progressively increasing radial distancestherefrom as shown clearly in Figs. 6 and 8. An arm 68 (Fig. 9) extendsfrom a sleeve 69 on the lower end of a shaft 10 to which it is secured,through the yslot 66 in a direction generally parallel to the rod sothat when the arm 68 is rocked with the shaft it will act as a camfollower in the slot 66 of the interponent or plate 63 and will rock thelatter about the rod 62. The shaft 10 is rotatably mounted in thebearing 1| and also carries an arm 12 which extends into the path oftravel of the lower peripheral edge of the open end of the inverted canas shown in Fig. 3, so

that as any can moves into the station A, its lower edge, which is theopen edge of the mouth of the inverted can, will engage the arm 12 andcam it into the position shown in Fig. 4.

When the ,arm 12 is rocked in this manner it shifts the arm 68 from theposition shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4, and in itsmovement between these positions, arm 68 shifts the interponent or plate63 from the normal or inactive position shown in Figs. 3, 6, and '7 intothe active position shown in Figs. 4, 5, 8 and 9. The slot 61 opensthrough an edge of the plate as shown in Fig. 6 and is arcuate, with itscenter of curvature at the rod 62, and a radius equal to the distancefrom rod 62 to rod 5|, so that' when the interponent plate 63 is rockedfrom the position shown in Fig. 6 to the position shown in Fig. 8, theslot 61 will clear the rod 5| it vbeing understood that the width of theslot 61 is greater than the diameter of the rod 5|. The end portion ofthe plate 63 adjacent to the slot 61 is substantially weighted, so thatwhen the interponent is in said active position, the forces of gravityurge it to rotate and to rock said end portion downwardly into theposition illustrated in Fig. 6. The rod 5| is provided with an abutmentor shoulder 13 which moves with the rod 5|, and this abutment isadvantageously secured by providing a collar Fig. 8 and holds it in thatposition. At the end of a cycle of movement of the rod 5|, the cans 12back into the path of any other approaching 14 on the rod 5I formovement with the latter.

A set screw 15 serves to secure the collar 14 in any of the differentpositions into which it may be adjusted along the rod 5|. The collar 14is adjusted into such a position that when the rod 5| is at its lefthand limit of movement in Fig. l, it will bedisposed in substantialdistance from the adjacent end face of the sleeve 60, and when at itsright handlimit of movement with the rod 5| will occupy the positionshown in dash lines in Fig. 3. It will be observed that when the collar14 moves with the rod 5| in this manner, it will stop just short ofengaging and moving the sleeve and there will be no depression of valvestem 51 of the valve 53. If the plate or interponent 63 is shifted intothe position shown in Fig. 8 in which the slot 61 straddles the rod 5|,then when the collar 14 moves from the full line position to the dashline position in Fig. 3, it will engage the plate 63 and move it and thesleeve 60 endwise with the rod 5| to the right, as shown by the fullline arrow in Fig. 3. This causes a depression of the valve stem 51 andan opening of valve 53 to cause the delivery of a rinsing liquid to acan and cover in stations A and B.

During this movement of sleeve 60 with the rod 5|, the plate 63 is freeto ride along the arm 68 which shifted it into the active position shown,in`

can, which position of arm 12 is shown in Fig. 3. From this it will beobserved that the valve will be opened while the rod 5| is in its righthand limit of movement in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 and a can is in station A,which usually will be throughout substantially all of the period whilethe can is stationary in station A.

If no can is in station A, the interponent 63 will, of course, be in itsinactive position shown in Fig. 6, and the valve stern 51 of the valve53 will remain inactive when the rod 5| moves to the right in Fig. 3.The same type of control is provided for the valve 54, and for thatreason the corresponding parts for operating the valve 54 are given thesame reference characters as those for operating valve 53.

It will be observed that the rod 62 is adjustable in directionslengthwise thereof, and that one end thereof is adjacent to and alignedwith the sleeve 69, so that movement of the rod 62 and sleeve 60lengthwise of the rod 5I, on whichA sleeve 60 is loose, and tothe leftin Figs. 5 and '1, may be selectively limited by abutment of the rod 62against sleeve 69. 'Ihe rod 62 is adjusted to limit excessive movementsof the sleeve 60 which might enable the sleeve to slip off of the valvestem 51 and become disconnected therefrom.

From the foregoing it will he observed that the only pressure exerted bythe arm 12 on the can edge which cams it aside is that relatively slightpressure exerted by the weighted interponent 63, which is urged bygravity to rotate into the inactive position shown in Fig. 6. The onlypressure transmitted through the can is that sucient to shift theinterponent 63 into the active position which is relatively small, andthe work of operating the valve is performed entirely by the rod 5|under operation by the cam 43. Because of this, the wear on the canswhich tends to destroy the tinning on the engaged surface thereof willbe very slight, and the life of the Cans very greatly increased.

The valve 54, in the illustrated example, controls the delivery ofsterile rinse water received from a suitable source, through pipe 54a,and this pipe beyond the valve 54 branches, one branch 54h going to aposition beneath any can in station C and the other branch 54odelivering rinse water to the covers in station D.

It is believed that the operation of the apparatuswill be clear from theforegoing description, and it will `be understood that various changesin the details and arrangement of parts, which have been hereindescribed and illustrated in order to explain the nature oftheinvention, may be made by those skilled in the art Within the principleand scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

l. In a machine for Washing articles Such as milk cans, a track alongwhich the cans are moved in inverted positions, means including anoperating cam for moving said cans through selected treating stations insuccession along said track in step by step movements with substantialintervals of rest in said stations between movements, a rod extending ina direction approximately parallel to the track and mounted for end.-wise movement, an abutment on said rod, `means operated in timedrelation to said cam for moving said rod endwise in one direction andvfor holding it so moved during a substantial portion of `each of saidintervals, a valve having an operating element urged continuously andyieldingly into closed position, a sleeve slidable freely and endwise onsaid rod adjacent said abutment and operable on said element to force itinto open position when said sleeve moves in said one direction endwiseof said rod, an interponent mounted on said sleeve for movement thereoninto and out of a position in the path of said abutment as said rodmoves endwise in said one direction so as to be engaged and moved bysaidabutment and thereby cause operation of said valve element, the pathof travel of said abutment terminating before the abutment normallycauses material movement of the valve element when the interponent isout of the path of movement of the abutment, means responsive to thepresence of a can in a selected one of said stations forv causing`movement of said interponent into the path of movement of said abutmentautomatically, and means controlled by said valve for directing atreating fluid towards said can then in said selected station.

2. In a machine for washing articles such as moved in invertedpositions, means including an operating cam for moving said cans throughselected treating stations in succession along said track in step bystep movements with substantial intervals of rest in said stationsbetween movements, a rod extending in a direction approximately parallelto the track and mounted for endwise movement,l an abutment on said rod,means operated in timed relation to said cam for moving said rod endwisein one direction and for holding it so moved during a substantialportion of each of said intervals, a valve having an operating elementurged continuously and yieldingly into closed position, a sleeveslidable freely and endwise on said rod adjacent said abutment andoperable on said element to force it into open position when saidsleeveV moves in said one direction endwise of said rod, an interponentmounted on said sleeve for movement thereon into and out of a positionin the path of said abutment as said rod moves endwise in said onedirection so as to be engaged and moved by said abutment and therebycause operation of said valve element, the path of travel of saidabutment terminating before the abutment normally causes materialmovement of the valve element when-the interponent is out of the pathkof movement of the abutment, a lever having an arm disposed-within thepath of travel of said cans as they move into a selected one of saidstations and operable by any can moving into said selected one of saidstations, means operable by said lever when moved by said can enteringsaid one station for shifting said interponent into a position totransmit movement from said abutment to said sleeve and through thesleeve to said valve, and

means controlled by said valve when operated through said interponentfor directing a treating stream towards the can in said selected onestation at that time.

3. Ina machine for washing articles such as lmills: cans, a track alongwhich the cans aremoved in inverted positions, means including anoperatmeans operated in timed relation to said cam for moving said rodendwise in one direction and for holding it so moved during'y asubstantial portion of each of said intervals, a valve having an.operating element `urged. continuously and yieldingly into closedposition, means controlled by said valve for delivering :a stream offluid toa can in one of said stations, Ywhen said valve is opened,

asleeve .slidable freely and endwise on saidfrod adjacent said abutmentand operable on said element to force itinto open position when said,sleeve-moves in. .said one direction endwise of .said rod, aninterponent pivoted on said `sleeve for movement thereon into and out ofa position in thekpath lot said abutment as said rodmoves milk cans, atrack along which the cans are.

endwisefin said one direction so as to be engaged and moved, by said`abutment and` thereby cause operat-ibn of said valve element, the pathof travel of said, abutment terminating before the abutment normallycauses material movement of the valve element when the interponent isout of the path of movement of the abutment, a lever having an armdisposed within the path of travel of' said cans as they move .into saidone of said stations and operable by any can moving intosaid one of saidstations, a rod member extending generally in a direction parallel tothe direction of endwise movement of said rod rocked by said lever, saidinterponent having a slot which from end to end progresses toincreasingly greater radial distances from the pivotal axis of theinterponent and through which said md member loosely extends, wherebyrocking of said -lever by a can will Vshift said interponent into aposition to transmit movement from said abutment to said sleeve andthrough the sleeve to said valve, and

said interponent may slide along said rod member without disengagementtherefrom while said sleeve and. interponent are moved with said rod.l4. rAn improved device for treating articles with a Huid medium, whichcomprises-means for conveying the articles along a selected path, a rodmounted generally parallel to said path and adagainst, the action ofsaid urging means into open positioman abutment on said rod adjacentsaid sleeve, an interponent mounted on said sleeve for movement into andout of a position in which it is disposed between said abutment andsleeve,

means operable by an article passing along said the same direction forshifting said sleeve in a direction tol cause a movement of said valveelement into open position, and means controlled by said` valve rfordirecting a nuid to an article in said path.

5. An improved device for treating articles with a fluid medium, whichcomprises means for conveyingthe articles along a selected path, a rodmountedgenerally parallel to said path and adjacent thereto, means forshifting said rod back f and forth endwise, a valve having a valve stemshiftable endwise between open and closed posi` tions of the valve,means yieldingly urging said valve stem into closed position, a sleeveloosely,1710

for movement in a direction crosswise of the di- "v rection of movementof saidrod into a position between said abutment and said sleeve, saidplate having a slot from face to face and which from end to endprogresses to increasingly greater rau dial distances from the pivotalaxis of said plate;v

an arm extending generally parallel to said rod and through said slot,means operable by an article moving along said path for moving said armin a direction'to carry its portion Within the slot toward said rod soas to rock said plate' into a position between said abutment and saidsleeve, said arm having a length suiiicient to remain in said slot assaid plate moves with said sleeve under actuation of said abutment, and

means controlled by said valve for delivering `a treating iiuid to oneof said articles while in said path.

6. An improved device for treating milk cans and the like with a fluidmedium, which comy prises means for conveying the cans in successionthrough a treating station with a substantial interval of rest in saidstation, means for delivering a treating fluid to said cans whileapproximately in saidstation, means for controlling l the delivery ofsaiduid by said directing means i and having an operating elementthrough operation of which the delivery is stopped or permitted, a rodextending generally parallel to the direction of travel of said cansthrough said station, means mounting said rod for endwlse reciprocation,means for reciprocating said rod in coordinated relation to the movementof said cans into and out of said station, a sleeve mounted 'on andsliding freely along said rod,- and having one portion engaging saidoperating element to operate it and cause delivery of fluid to saidstation, a collar fixed on said rod in a position to approach closely toand recede from said sleeve without moving said sleeve duringreciprocations of said rod, a member pivoted on said sleeve and movablethereon into and out of a position across the end of said sleeve to forman extension of said sleeve when across its end, said member having athickness sufllcient to be engaged by said collar and to transmit motionfrom it to said sleeve when said member is across the end of said sleeveand said collar approaches said sleeve, and to clear said collar whenmoved from across the end of said sleeve, and means disposed foroperation by a can in said station, for positioning said member acrossthe end of said sleeve while a can is insaid station, whereby fluid willbe delivered only while a can is 'approximately in said station. 1

7. An improved device for treating articles with a fluid medium, whichcomprises means for conveying the articles in succession through atreating station with a substantial interval of rest in said station,means for directing av fluid stream against said articles while in saidstation, means for controlling said fluid stream and having an operatingelement through which delivery of iiuid is controlled, a power operatedmember operable back and forth in timed relation to the advancement ofsaid articles into said station, a transmission element slidable freelyupon saidmember and engageable with and operating said element, a platepivoted on said transmission element to swing crosswise thereof, saidmember having an abutment near said transmission element but stoppingshort of engagement with said transmission element, but engageable withsaid plate to move it and said transmission element and operatingelement when said plate is swung into the path of said abutment, andmeans automatically responsive to the presence of an article in saidstation for shifting said plate into the path of said abutment, wherebythe power necessary to operate said element and cause a delivery offluid will be supplied by said power operated member.

8. An improved device for treating articles with a fluid medium, whichcomprises means for conveying the articles in succession through atreating station with a substantial interval of rest in said station,means for directing a fluid stream against said articles while in saidstation, means for controlling said uid stream and having Ian operatingelement through which delivery of fluid is controlled, a power operatedmember operable back and forth in timedrelation to the advancement ofsaid articles into said station, an interponent mounted to move freelyin the direction of movement of said member but shiftable crosswise ofsaid direction into and out of a position in which it transmits motionfrom said power operated member to said operating element to causedelivery of fluid to said articles in said station, a control memberdisposed in the path of movement of said articles and pushed generallyhorizontally and crosswise of said path by each article moving into andthrough said station, once only for each article passing said station, arod connected to and moving with said control member, extending'generally in the direction of movement of said power operated member,said interponent having a cam portion slidingly engaging with said rodby which movement of said rod will shift said interponent into and outof its said position, and said interponent may slide along said rodwithout movement out of its said position, as said interponent moveswith said power-operated member.

9. An improved device for treating articles such as open milk cans, witha fluid medium, which comprises means for conveying the cans in invertedpositions in succession through a treating station with a substantialinterval of rest in said station, a control member urged into the pathof travel of the edge of the open mouth of each can as it moves throughsaid station so as to be pushed aside horizontally by said edge, saidmember having a rod extending therefrom, a power-operated elementreciprocating in a direction generally parallel to said rod during saidrest, means for delivering fluid to any can which is in said treatingstation, a. valve controlling said means, means for operating saidvalve, an interponent plate disposed with its faces crosswise of saidrod, mounted for one movement in a direction crosswise of said rod intoand out of a position in which it causes operation therethrough of saidvalve operating means from said power operated element, and

also free to move with said element in said direction, said plate havinga cam slot therein through which said rod extends, said rod When rockedwith said member by movement of a can into said station, in turnshifting said plate into saidl position to transmit motion from saidelement to said valve operating means to open said valve, said rodhaving relative endwise movement in said slot of said plate as saidplate moves with said element.

10. An improved device for treating articles with a, fluid medium, whichcomprises means for conveying the articles in succession through atreating station, with a substantial interval of rest in said station,means for directing a uid stream against said articles While in saidstation, means for controlling said stream and having an operatingelement movable back and forth, a power operated member also movableback and forth in timed relation to the advancement of said articlesthrough said station and in a direction parallel to the movement of saidelement, said member having an abutment, a sleeve slidably mounted onsaid member and engageable With and operating said element in adirection in which it causes delivery of fluid to an article in saidstation, the movement of said abutment toward said sleeve beinginsuilicient to move said sleeve and element and cause .delivery of saidstream to any article in said station, a plate mounted on said sleevefor movement between an inactive position in which it is out of the pathof said abutment, and an active position in which it is between saidabutment and said sleeve, said plate being of such thickness that whenin said active position it will be engaged and moved by said abutmentbefore said abutment completes its movement toward said sleeve, and willtransmit movement from said abutment to said sleeve and elementsuiciently to cause delivery of fluid to any article in said station,and means rendered effective by the presence of an article in saidstation for shifting said plate into said active position.

l1. An improved device for treating articles with a uid medium, whichcomprises means for conveying the articles in succession through atreating station, with a substantial interval of rest in said station,means for directing a fluid stream against said articles While in saidstation, means for controlling said stream and having an operatingelement disposed for movement back and forth in a direction parallel tothe direction of movement of said articles, a rod extending parallel tosaid direction of movement of said articles and of said element meansfor reciprocating said rod endwise in timed engagement to the movementof. said articles, said rod having an abutment thereon, a sleeve mountedon said rod for sliding movement therealong and having a portionengageable with said element to move said element in one direction,means yieldingly urging said element in the other direction, saidabutment in its movement in one direction approaching but not engagingsaid sleeve, a plate mounted on said sleeve for movement in a directioncrosswise of said rod from an inactive position in which it clears saidabutment to an active position in .which it lies in the path of saidabutment and is engaged and operated by said abutment to transmit themovement of said abutment to said sleeve suiiiciently to cause a fulloperation of said element, and means responsive to the presence of anarticle in said station for camming said plate into said activeposition. y

12. An improved device for treating articles with a fluid medium, whichcomprises means for conveying the articles in succession through atreating station, with a substantial interval of rest in said station,means for directing a fluid stream against said articles While in saidstation, means for controlling said stream and having an operatingelement disposed for movement back and forth in a direction parallel tothe direction of movement of said articles, a rod extending parallel tosaid direction of movement of said articles and of said element meansfor reciprocating said rod endwise in timed engagement to the movementof said articles, said rod having an abutment thereon, a sleeve mountedon said rod for sliding movement therelong and having a portionengageable with said element to move said element in one direction,means yieldingly urging said element in the other direction, saidabutment in its movement in one direction approaching but not engagingsaid sleeve, a plate mounted on said sleeve for movement in a directioncross- Wise of said rod from an inactive position in which it clearssaid abutment to an active position in which it lies in the path of saidabutment and is engaged and operated by said abutment to transmit themovement of said abutment to said sleeve sufficiently to cause a fulloperation of said element, the mounting of said plate on said sleevebeing a pivotal mounting and said plate having a slot therein from faceto face, and progressing from one end which is a selected distance fromthe pivotal mounting of the plate in a direction to be at progressivelygreater radial distances from said pivotal mounting as. the slotprogresses from said one end, a shaft mounted for oscillation about anaxis at right angles to, but offset from the axis of said rod, andhaving one arm extending through said slot and a second arm in the pathof any article moving into said station, whereby the movement of anarticle into said station will rock said shaft and through it said plateinto its said active position. i

E. ROY ALLlNG. CARL F. ULRICH.

